The island of Cuba — a smallish totalitarian state with a clanking economy — may be the best example yet of how President Obama sees foreign policy. It’s better to engage than confront foes and draw them into a Westernized world instead of shutting them out, the president suggests.

It’s a pattern he’s shown in dealing with Iranian hard-liners, Libyan revolutionaries, Muslim extremists and Chinese rivals. He’s not shy about ordering in drones and troops when needed, but Obama prefers a softer route that pulls in global adversaries and subdues them with conventional rules and obligations.

Elementary school in Oakland opens time capsule from 1927San Francisco Chronicle

Brides of March walk through San FranciscoSan Francisco Chronicle

WildCare rescues Western scrub jay from rodent glue trapWildCare

The Regulars: The CarpenterJessica Christian

Massive fire in San Francisco's North BeachDavid Essling

His speech announcing a sweeping break in half-century-old Cuban policy was nearly a carbon copy of earlier remarks. Erase the Cuban references and his 15-minute talk could fill the bill for pronouncements around the world.

''We can do more to support the Cuban people and promote our values through engagement,” Obama said. “After all, these 50 years have shown that isolation has not worked. It’s time for a new approach.’’ he added.

The uber-rational president believes that democracy, trade and open, everyday life will wear down overseas antagonists. In a prior speech marking the Iranian New Year, Obama went over the heads of diplomats in a TV pitch to that country’s citizenry. There needed to be a “new path” built on democracy, humanitarian rights and international agreements, a near echo of this week’s historic remarks on Cuba.

Professing a preference for peace over conflict is hardly remarkable, a stance that nearly every world leader can nod along with. But it’s also a thematic divide in looking at foreign policy. Obama’s approach has produced sharp reactions from hawkish critics, who think he isn’t tough-minded enough, a response heard again in Washington after the Cuba policy change.

The Cuba announcement is the latest example of “soft power,’’ much ridiculed in an age of terrorism, religious extremism and regional warfare. It’s a policy that taps nonmilitary advantages such as technology, financial power and open institutions to push American ideals. With exhausted, depleted Cuba, it’s a pitch that can work, and Obama is right to pursue it.

The president’s belief in pragmatism over ideology hasn’t paid off everywhere else. Russia may live within the global economy, its citizens mix freely with other countries and its leaders cooperate fitfully on world problems, but President Vladimir Putin has invaded Crimea and fomented fighting in Ukraine. Soft power won’t work here, and Obama is sensibly pushing warning-shot sanctions.

Foreign policy remains a balancing act, obliging the president to choose among difficult, uncertain options. Obama’s move on Cuba shows a willingness to bet that open relations can achieve more than hostile confrontation. It’s an opportunity for the president to put his preferred outlook to work.